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Plagiarism Policy

P-ISSN: 3117-8065 | E-ISSN: 3117-8073
Plagiarism & Academic Integrity Policy

The ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine is committed to protecting academic integrity, responsible authorship, appropriate attribution, and the reliability of published laboratory medicine research. The journal does not permit plagiarism, misleading text reuse, duplicate publication, inappropriate appropriation of diagnostic data or ideas, or other practices that compromise the originality and integrity of scholarly work.

This policy is informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations, and the transparency principles reflected in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) criteria. Submitted manuscripts undergo similarity screening and editorial assessment before or during the peer-review process.

Forms of Plagiarism & Unacceptable Practices

Plagiarism involves presenting another person's words, ideas, lab data, microscopy images, assay methods, or intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment. Unacceptable practices in ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine submissions include:

Verbatim text copying without citation
Inadequate paraphrasing or close structural imitation
Use of another researcher's lab data without attribution
Uncredited reproduction of tables or pathology figures
Translation of source material without proper attribution
Undisclosed or unverified AI-generated content
Screening Tools & Method

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using journal-approved similarity-detection software (e.g., Turnitin/iThenticate) before peer review:

Similarity screening forms an integral part of initial editorial desk checks.
Editors manually interpret similarity reports, discounting standard lab protocols, references, and legitimate citations.
Evaluation of Similarity

Similarity metrics are screening indicators and are not treated as automated conclusions of plagiarism:

Overall Similarity: Evaluated in context of attribution, section placement, and nature of overlap.
Source-Level Overlap: Substantial copying from a single source is unacceptable even if total percentage is low.
Lab Results, Tables & Images: Unauthorized duplication or improper image reuse is strictly prohibited.
Text Recycling & Reuse of Previous Work

Authors must cite prior publications arising from the same laboratory studies. Substantial reuse of previously published text, raw assay data, or figures requires transparency and appropriate permission. Necessary methodological descriptions must not mislead readers regarding originality.

Segmented Publication & Concurrent Submission

Dividing a single diagnostic research study into multiple small publications without scientific justification constitutes segmented (salami) publication. Authors must not submit the same manuscript concurrently to more than one journal.

Editorial Actions & COPE-Informed Procedures

When plagiarism or duplicate publication is identified before or after publication, ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine takes proportionate action based on COPE guidelines:

Clarification / Revision Request Manuscript Rejection Where Warranted Submission Restrictions Where Justified Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction Institutional / Funder Notification
Post-Publication Plagiarism: Confirmed plagiarism identified after publication will be evaluated according to its extent and impact. The journal may issue a formal retraction linked directly to the affected publication.
Policy Alignment & Periodic Review

The ICME Journal of Laboratory Medicine applies plagiarism procedures aligned with COPE Core Practices and DOAJ transparency criteria. This policy is updated periodically to maintain publishing integrity standards.

Author Responsibility: Authors remain fully responsible for the originality and integrity of their work, accurate citation of sources, transparent disclosure of related papers, and securing permission for copyright-protected figures or tables.